For many, the NCOER is a “check the box” sort of thing that rears its head whenever a rated soldier is up for review. And while we’re not here to hop up on our piggybacking soapbox and fill you full of Army-isms, there are a few things we want to point out about the NCOER.
If you’re just here to get some sample bullets and duty descriptions or find the link to the website to do your NCOERs, all of that is further down the page. But if you have two minutes, it might be cool to read this next section with an open mind.
Why NCOERs Matter
NCOERs matter for three reasons. It’s probably more than three, but we want to look at three real quick today.
Promotions. This is the obvious one. If you’re not giving your soldiers the right kind of attention they deserve on their NCOERs, it could hurt them down the line for a promotion or cool-guy school.
Growth. You might be surprised to find out that a lot of soldiers do care about growing as a soldier, leader, and a person. Unfortunately, it can be hard to gauge your progress and identify areas you’re strong and where you need to grow from the inside. A lot of soldiers care about this and when you don’t put the right time and effort into the NCOER process, you’re doing them a disservice.
Remember, just because it might not be important to you or the soldier hasn’t expressed a deep interest in growing doesn’t mean they don’t genuinely care.
A Metric For You. While the NCOER is for another soldier, it can help you learn a lot about yourself as a leader. If you’re constantly struggling to come up with things to write, you need to look at why. Are you not in-tune enough with your soldiers? Are you not giving your soldiers the right tools to do bullet-worthy things? It’s not always the case, but it’s worth assessing.
Sample NCOER Bullets
Alright, we’re off the soapbox now. For many, writing is not a strong suit, and that’s okay. We’ve linked to an awesome catalog of NCOER bullets below that you can use for inspiration. We’d recommend not taking these word for word, but they can help you put your thoughts into words.
- NCOER Bullet Comments by Category
- NCOER Bullets by MOS
- NCOER Bullets by Additional Duty/Position
- SHARP and EO NCOER Bullets
Sample NCOER Duty Descriptions
While you know what your soldiers do, it can be tough to think of those duties on the fly. Thankfully, the internet is a magical place that makes all of our dreams come true. Below, you’ll find a list of duties, roles, and responsibilities broken down by MOS and additional duty position.
Tips for Actually Getting Something Out of NCOERs
While there are “a million ways to skin a cat” or whatever that cliché Army phrase is, there are some best practices that can help you have success with the NCOER system. Feel free to use any, all, or none of these.
- Complete the NCOER throughout the year. Nothing makes an NCOER harder than waiting until the last minute. The worst part is if you have to reach out to your soldier for help. Nothing says, “I care about you,” like having to ask what they’ve been doing. Even just taking a few notes here and there throughout the year will make your live so much easier.
- Keep a backup. While the NCOER system is supposed to keep your information throughout the year, it’s an Army system. We’ve heard far too many reports of the information getting deleted out of the system. It’s great to put it in there throughout the year but keep a backup copy of your notes just in case.
- Schedule the counseling at the beginning of the cycle. It’s always a fun reminder that you’re behind on counseling your soldiers when you go to fill out the counseling dates on the NCOER. When the year starts for your soldier, put the counseling dates in your calendar. And if you want, tell the soldier about them as well. The dates may change because of life, but it’s a good practice. Also, we recommend being a nice guy or gal and reminding your soldiers a week or two before the counseling.
- Here’s some samples. We wanted to link you to some sample NCOERs to give you an idea of what they look like.
Where Do I Go to Complete the NCOER?
We highly recommend checking out and bookmarking our Army links page. It has all of the links to do NCOERs, DEERs, iPerms, training, Webmail, etc. It also breaks down which browsers it’s compatible with and what special things you might need to do for access.
If you just want the NCOER link, here you go.
Keep in mind the site goes down twice a month for maintenance on the network and the server, which means you won’t be able to do anything then. Don’t wait until the last minute!